2012 Oakland Supercross | Preview

Three different riders won the opening three rounds of the 2012 AMA Supercross Championship, displaying the wide amount of talent on this year’s grid.

The season-opener at Anaheim went to the reigning AMA SX Champion, Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Ryan Villopoto, with Ryan Dungey taking the win at round two in Phoenix, the 2010 SX champion giving KTM its first-ever win in AMA Supercross.

And last weekend’s race at Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles, was taken by Chad Reed aboard his self-owned team with American Honda backing, Two-Two Motorsports. It was the Australian’s 41st career victory.

But it’s Dungey who has the overall points lead as the series heads into O.com Stadium Saturday in Oakland, Calif. The Red Bull KTM SX-F 450 rider is the only one to finish on the podium at all three rounds so far, and holds a four-point lead over Reed and Villopoto, who are tied with 63 points in second and third.

The other big threat to field will be two-time AMA Supercross Champion James Stewart. But the Joe Gibbs Racing Yamaha rider arrives in Oakland under some heartbreaking news; his mechanic, Mark “Tex” Adams, was killed after assisting a stranded motorists in Florida. Although the news is saddening, Stewart is expected to race Saturday at O.com.

The other big news as the series heads to Oakland is the first-lap crash last week in LA involving Muscle Milk Honda’s Trey Canard and Valli Rockstar Yamaha’s Ryan Morais. During the wreck, which brought out the red flag, Morais landed on Canard, sending both riders to the dirt.

Canard fractured his back, and underwent surgery, and Morais also suffered many injuries, including a broken jaw, fractured vertebrae and broken ribs.

When the race restarted at Dodger Stadium, it was Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Jake Weimer who got the holeshot, but Reed moved into first on lap six, and was unstoppable.

Weimer would battle with Stewart, but both riders suffered small crashes, pushing them further back. Dungey would take second, and Stewart would regain his rhythm to take the final podium position.

There’s a simliar story brewing in the Western Regional AMA Supercross Lites Class; so far there were also three different winners – Honda’s Cole Seely (Anaheim I), Monster Kawasaki’s Dean Wilson (Phoenix) and GEICO Honda’s Eli Tomac (Los Angeles).

With his win in Dodger Stadium, Tomac went from fifth to first in Western Regional Lites class, one point ahead of Wilson. Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Tyla Rattray, the points leader coming into Dodger Stadium, sits an additional two points back in third.

During last year’s AMA Supercross return to Oakland, Stewart took the win, followed by Reed and Dungey, respectively. In the Western Regional Supercross Lites class, it would be Broc Tickle who took the win enroute to his 2011 AMA SX Lites title.

The first race was held in Oakland on January 18, 1979, and Jimmy Weinert won on a Kawasaki. Last year was the first inaugural Supercross Lites class race at O.co Coliseum.